Workers storm council meeting

WORKERS at Kadoma City Council last week stormed and disrupted a full council meeting, accusing management of neglecting them.

The development is a manifestation of serious infighting within the beleaguered city council where employees have been disrupting crucial meetings while questioning the manner in which management was running the city.

The meeting, held in council chambers on Tuesday night, temporarily came to a halt as workers representatives attacked the allegedly insensitive management for refusing to come to the negotiating table despite several engagements.

Among the issues raised were the non-payment of their bonuses for 2016 and 2017, including backpay and overtime allowances.

The workers also accused management of continuously cancelling works council meetings and not communicating with the workers.

Workers’ committee secretary-general Mr Lenin Samhembere had no kind words for the City of Kadoma management during the fracas.

“I don’t know how this management is operating. Our salaries and overtime are not being paid. We are also yet to receive 2016 and 2017 bonuses,” he fumed.

Mr Samhembere said previously works council meetings would only sail through after employees had done something extraordinary.

“The full council meeting should not be more important than the works council meeting, which includes the Kadoma City Council workers, we are saying that is not right.

“We should have our meeting first so that some of our deliberations would be endorsed in the full council meeting, but management has been postponing works council meetings,” he said.

Mr Samhembere said the workers had written letters expressing their grievances, but management has not responded to any of them.

“If they feel we are equally important as policy makers why not skip full council (meeting)? They can’t skip it, but they can skip works council meetings.”

Kadoma City Mayor Councillor Action Nyamukondiwa, however, intervened and ordered the employees out of the chambers saying their grievances had nothing to do with their full council meeting. He also advised the workers to use proper channels of communication while promising to engage management over the issues raised.

“Your grievances so far have nothing to do with the full council. What you can only disturb is their management briefings because right now councillors don’t know what is happening,” he said.

Management reportedly cancelled a works council meeting for the month of October and held it on November 7.

The workers insist that another works council meeting for November be held as the city used to hold its full council meetings religiously every last Tuesday of the month.